MINNESOTA COURT RULES

GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 518.Docketing of Judgment in District Court; Enforcement

(a)Docketing.

Except as otherwise provided in Rule 519 with respect to installment judgments, when a judgment has become finally effective as defined in Rule 515 of these rules the judgment creditor may obtain a transcript of the judgment from the court administrator on payment of the applicable statutory fee and file it in district court. Once filed in district court the judgment becomes and is enforceable as a judgment of district court, and the judgment will be docketed by the court administrator upon presentation of an affidavit of identification. No writ of execution or garnishment summons shall be issued out of conciliation court.

(b)Enforcement.

Unless the parties have otherwise agreed, if a conciliation court judgment has been docketed in district court and the judgment is not satisfied, the district court shall upon request of the judgment creditor order the judgment debtor to mail to the judgment creditor information as to the nature, amount, identity, and location of all the debtor's assets, liabilities, and personal earnings. The information shall be provided on a form substantially similar to that published by the state court administrator, and the information shall be sufficiently detailed to enable the judgment creditor to obtain satisfaction of the judgment by way of execution on nonexempt assets and earnings of the judgment debtor. The order shall contain a notice that failure to complete the form and mail it to the judgment creditor within ten days after service of the order may result in a citation for civil contempt of court. Cash bail posted as a result of being cited for civil contempt of court order under this rule may be ordered payable to the creditor to satisfy the judgment, either partially or fully.

(Amended effective January 1, 2010.)

1993 Committee Comment

The party in whose favor the judgment was entered (the "judgment creditor") is responsible for enforcing the judgment if the other party ("the judgment debtor") does not voluntarily comply with the judgment. Obtaining a transcript of the judgment and filing it in district court under Rule 518(a) is the first step in enforcing a judgment. A judgment requiring the payment of money (as opposed to a judgment requiring the return of property) will also be docketed by the court administrator upon transcription if the statutorily required affidavit of identification (Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 548.09, subdivision 2 ) is presented. Docketing a money judgment creates a lien against all real property of the debtor in the county in which it is docketed, except for registered land, which requires an additional filing (pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 508.63 and 508A.63) to create a lien. Docketing must be accomplished before the judgment creditor is permitted to use the disclosure provisions of Rule 518(b), which may assist in locating assets of the judgment debtor. Additional information on enforcement of judgments against nonexempt assets of the debtor is set forth in brochures and forms available from local court administration and legal aid offices.

Specific fee amounts have been deleted from these rules as the fees are subject to modification by the legislature. Minnesota Statutes 1990, section 357.021 ($7.50 transcription fee). Whether a separate fee in addition to the transcription fee is required for filing and docketing is also subject to legislative modification. Under current law, no separate fee may be charged for filing and docketing a conciliation court judgment in the district court of the county in which the judgment was rendered.

Advisory Committee Comment - 2009 Amendment

Rule 518 is amended to remove the automatic 30-day stay following docketing of a judgment in district court and the commencement of discovery regarding the judgment. The 30-day stay does not serve a useful purpose in court administration, and simply results in a 30-day delay in resolution of these matters. Accordingly, the committee recommends that it be removed from Rule 518. This change also makes the rule consistent with statute. See Minnesota Statutes, section 491A.02, subdivision 9.